stock spidle VS tall drops (overall handling) at specific ride height

[6carmello8]

Hi suspension guru's

So I have a dilemma...I'm trying to figure out the difference in the two set ups and which will handle better on the street under spirited driving. It will NEVER see autocross or the track, just canyon runs etc. Bare with me...

My question is, with the front ride height with 18's set identical to Mr. Stielow's built car as I've attached:

Will there be an improvement in handling/cornering given the remaining wheel travel at that ride height with tall drop spindles (1.75" bj to bj) OR with stock spindles, GW arms and QA-1 coilovers and camber set at -2/2.5 ?

I ask this because I want to attain that ride height without sacrificing handling and the most cost effective way is to just keep the stock spindles and buy the newer GW lower arms that make the car sit an inch lower which will give me the height of that of Stielow's Mayhem Camaro

OR

I can keep the older GW lower arms, get Ridetech's tall drops and (which lower the car 2") raise back the QA-1's to achieve the same ride height as Stielow's Mayhem Camaro. If I go this route, I THEN have to buy the TruTurn since my front wheel BS is a 18x8.5 with a 4.75" BS and 4.5 BS is max without the tie rod hitting.

You see where the dilemma is. If I get the tall drops, I have to get the Truturn so I'd like to know if there is a noticeable feel in handling/cornering with the stock spindles or tall drops at that ride height.

Thanks in Advance!

[marolf101x]

Static Camber:
You should not run -2/2.5 degrees static camber on the street unless you enjoy spending money on tires. Typical street setting is -0.5 degrees.

Suspension travel:
So long as the shock remains at the same installed height suspension travel remains the same regardless of how you drop the car (tall lower ball joints, drop spindle, etc) unless the tire hits something at the lowered stance (inner fender wells).
If you drop the car via the spring you will then lose suspension travel.
Typically you want/need 5 inches of total wheel travel on any corner. We like to keep 3 inches of travel for compression and 2 inches of travel for extension (you spend more time soaking up bumps in compression than you do jumping the car and extending the suspension).

Front Wheel Width:
Regardless of which route you go you'll have to use the TruTurn to get the steering arm out of the way to clear the wheels. Otherwise you have to run a narrower front wheel. (unless by using a tall lower ball joint the steering arm is raised enough to clear. I'm not sure about this as I've never tested it)

Handling:
I won't go into great depth on the front suspension geometry as you won't be pushing it hard enough on the street to really matter.
Handling is simply a matter of keeping the tire on the pavement without breaking traction. There are a few things that need to be considered to make this happen:
Camber:
The OE geometry allows the wheel to go into positive camber under roll (top of tire leans away from the car, while the tire lifts the inside contact patch off the pavement). Everything the aftermarket is doing is to induce and increase negative camber under roll (Guldstrand mod, tall ball joints, tall spindle, etc). Negative camber under roll keeps the tire patch flat to the road surface thereby maintaining maximum tire contact patch.
Shocks:
Anytime the suspension moves the shock/spring are there to control the movement. For simplicity sake the spring controls the compression of the suspension, while the shock controls the extension. The shock is simply a timing device. . .how quickly or slowly the suspension is allowed to react to the suspension movement. So let’s say you are hitting a clover leaf on ramp, turning to the right. . . the left side spring is being compressed as the car rolls toward the outside, while the right front spring is pushing up trying to induce more roll. The right shock is trying to hold the suspension from extending. As you are going around that ramp you are hitting small bumps. So even though the left side of the car is being compressed by the roll of the vehicle, it is also being compressed then released by the small bumps. So the left side shock is doing a ton of small movement work, trying to slow down the extension after the bump to keep the tire from bouncing.
Bottom line you want the best shock you can afford for both ride quality and handling performance. . .and the best shock does not necessarily mean the one with the most knobs. The best shock is the one that can react very quickly to suspension movement, and provide a lot of force (control) at low shaft speeds. There’s WAY too much information about shocks to cover in this post. So the best thing to do is read all you can about shocks so you can start to form your own understanding and opinion, then call the “shock people” and discuss with them why their shock is better than something else for your application. If they know what they are talking about they’ll be able to explain exactly why their shock has certain forces at certain shaft speeds, and an increase in force (or possibly a lack of force) at other shaft speeds and how/why that works in your vehicle.

Summation:
For what you are doing you want to keep as much suspension travel as you can, keep the wide tires, improve the stock geometry, and use a shock that has the best control at your price point. This will provide both the best ride quality and handling at your budget.